What is the history behind Trump’s LeBron blast over US national anthem?

President Donald Trump on Thursday accused LeBron James of disrespecting the United States after the NBA star appeared to continue his warm-ups while the national anthem was performed before Philadelphia's season opener on Tuesday.

Key points

• The 41-year-old James, in his record 24th NBA season, was set to create his home debut for the Sixers Thursday night against Cleveland.
• "LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!"
• James appeared to practise a golf swing and jump shot as The Star-Spangled Banner was performed at Tuesday's game in New York.
• AC Milan striker and former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic blasted socially conscious athletes in a 2021 interview.
• James had not created a public comment or a social media post as of Thursday evening concerning Trump's gripe.

"I said right from the beginning that he's no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE, " Trump remarked of James in a social media post sharing the video.

James appeared to practise a golf swing and jump shot as The Star-Spangled Banner was performed at Tuesday's game in New York. James, starting his first season with Philadelphia, was lined up alongside teammates who mostly stood still during the anthem.

Trump and James have been critical of each other for years, occasionally trading public swipes.

Meanwhile, the 41-year-old James, in his record 24th NBA season, was set to create his home debut for the Sixers Thursday night against Cleveland.

Among some of the more notable times James became entangled with the president or politics. LeBron wears one black shoe, one white shoe.

James was with Cleveland in 2017 when he created a statement during an NBA game with his shoes – one black, one white, with the word "equality" in capital gold letters on the back of each.

After the game, James created a statement concerning Trump, saying: "This is a beautiful country and we're never going to let one person dictate how beautiful and how powerful we are.", then.

James had called Trump "a bum" on Twitter and also said earlier that season about the president: "He doesn't understand how plenty of kids, no matter the race, look up to the president of the United States for guidance, for leadership, for words of encouragement. He doesn't understand that, and that's what makes me more sick than anything." Shut up and dribble.

James indicated determination to speak out on social matters and the nation's political climate after Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticised the four-time NBA champion for his 2018 comments regarding social matters.

"We will definitely not shut up and dribble, " James remarked. "I will definitely not do that. I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth. I mean too much to so plenty of kids that feel like they don't have a way out and they need someone to assist lead them out of the situation they're in."

James referenced Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Jackie Robinson as athletes who previously spoke up for equality and change with no reservations concerning the consequences or any rewards. "We know it's bigger than us, " James remarked. Obtain residents to the polls.

James was named The Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year in 2020 in sizeable part for leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship and, at the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, helping convince numerous who had never voted to finally head to the polls.

"I still know what I do on the floor and obviously, I give everything to the game, " James remarked. "But I can create a greater impact off the floor right now, more than I can on the floor. And I want to continue to inspire individuals with the way I play the game of basketball. But there's so plenty of more things that I can do off the floor to assist cultivate individuals, inspire residents, bring individuals together, empower them." James rejects Zlatan's criticism of activist athletes.

AC Milan striker and former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic blasted socially conscious athletes in a 2021 interview. Ibrahimovic called it "a mistake" for James and other athletes to obtain involved in political causes, saying they should "just do what you do best, because it doesn't look good". James, naturally, rejected the criticism.

"I would never shut up about things that are wrong, " James remarked.

For now, what is the history behind Trump's LeBron blast over US national anthem? Remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.